Allianz Global Wealth Report 2023: The fun is over

2022 was a disastrous year for savers. Asset prices fell uniformly in line with the full decline scenario. As a devastating result of this, the financial assets of households worldwide shrank by 2.7 percent, which is the most serious decline since the 2008 global financial crisis. At the same time, there are marked differences in the growth rate of the three main asset classes. While securities (-7.3%) and insurance/retirement savings (-4.6%) showed a significant decline, bank deposits showed a strong growth of 6.0 percent. All in all, financial assets suffered losses of €6.6 trillion, with total cash holdings at €233 trillion at the end of 2022. The decrease was most noticeable in North America (-6.2%), followed by Western Europe (-4.8%). In contrast, the pace of growth in Asia, with the exception of Japan, remained relatively vigorous. China’s monetary assets also grew strongly, by 6.9%. However, compared to the previous year (+13.3%) and the long-term average of the past twenty years (+15.9%), its development was disappointing – the multiple closures obviously left their mark.